The expeditions/ dataset anchors the entire spatial structure of the Pristine Seas Science Database. It provides a canonical registry of expeditions, spatial hierarchy, and field deployments across all survey methods. These tables enable consistent joins, filtering, and spatial aggregation across datasets.
1 Tables
1.1expeditions.info
This table stores metadata for each expedition conducted by the Pristine Seas team. Each row corresponds to a unique expedition and defines the top-level context for all associated sampling efforts.
Table 1: expeditions.info Table Schema
Field
Type
Required
Description
exp_id
STRING
true
Unique expedition identifier in the format ISO3_YEAR (e.g., FJI_2025)
number
INTEGER
true
Sequential expedition number (e.g., 43)
name
STRING
true
Official or working expedition name
country
STRING
true
Primary country or jurisdiction visited
start_date
DATE
true
Expedition start date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
end_date
DATE
true
Expedition end date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
lead
STRING
true
Overall expedition lead
science_lead
STRING
true
Lead scientist for the research campaign
vessel
STRING
false
Name of the vessel or platform used
ship_track
STRING
false
WKT LINESTRING representing the ship’s route (optional)
partners
STRING
false
Institutional collaborators (optional)
description
STRING
false
Brief description of expedition goals and scope
notes
STRING
false
Optional free-text notes or admin metadata
To date, our team has conducted 47 expeditions across 30 countries since our first one in 2007.
Figure 1: Timeline of expeditions
1.2expeditions.sites
The expeditions.sites table defines the canonical spatial unit for all Pristine Seas field deployments (Table 2). Each row represents a single application of a survey method (e.g., UVS, pBRUV, submersible) at a specific place and time during an expedition.
While method-specific site tables exist (e.g., uvs.sites, sub.sites), this shared table provides a centralized registry that supports cross-method integration, standardized mapping, and consistent spatial joins.
What is a site?
A site is defined by a unique combination of exp_id, method, and a 3-digit site number (e.g., FJI_2025_uvs_001)
It represents one deployment, diver, or survey event of a given method at a location
Each site may contain multiple stations (e.g., depth strata, replicates, rigs)
Examples:
- A **UVS site** could be a reef dive where divers conduct fish, benthic, and invertebrate surveys at multiple depths
- A pBRUV site is a pelagic drop of five video rigs — each a separate station
- A submersible site refers to a single dive, typically comprising multiple horizontal transects
Sites serve as the parent unit of stations and a universal spatial key across all modules.
Table 2: expeditions.sites Table Schema
Field
Type
Required
Description
ps_site_id
STRING
true
Unique site ID (exp_id_method_###), e.g., FJI_2025_uvs_001
exp_id
STRING
true
Foreign key to expeditions.info
method
STRING
true
Field method used (e.g., uvs, pbruv, edna, sub)
region
STRING
true
Broad geographic or administrative unit (e.g., Murat, Chocó, Tuamotu, Duff Islands).
subregion
STRING
true
Intermediate feature within the region such as an atoll, island, gulf, or reef complex
locality
STRING
false
Local named feature such as a village, bay, cove, reef (e.g., Lolieng, Ensenada Utría).
date
DATE
true
Date of the site-level deployment in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
time
TIME
true
Local time of the deployment in 24-hour format (HH:MM:SS)
latitude
FLOAT
true
Approximate latitude (decimal degrees, WGS84)
longitude
FLOAT
true
Approximate longitude (decimal degrees, WGS84)
lead
STRING
true
Name of the lead scientist or survey team lead
notes
STRING
false
Optional comments, metadata, or field observations